Steve Gunn: Jerry Lewis' dedication to MDA impacted more than his 'kids'

They fired Jerry Lewis from the Muscular Dystrophy Association telethon?

I guess I really am getting old.

There was a time when such an announcement was unthinkable. The iconic Lewis was the face and voice of MDA for millions of people across the world. We were attracted to his passion and devotion to a cause that had become the focus of his life.

For those who watched and donated every year, I think the logic went something like this: If someone as old, rich and famous as Lewis could care so much about the victims of neuromuscular disease, we should probably care a little more, too.

The American Cancer Society and the March of Dimes could have used someone like Lewis. He was more than the annual pitchman for a charitable cause. To borrow a phrase from former President Bill Clinton, Lewis seemed to feel the pain that his "kids" were feeling, and you sensed that his empathy was genuine.

He cried for the victims in front of live cameras, and he made a lot of us cry, too. He kept everyone on edge during the final hours of the show, when he begged viewers to make one more pledge so the telethon could make one more dollar than it did the year before.

You wanted to high-five someone every time Ed McMahon told Lewis it was time for a "timpani" and the giant pledge board recorded a few more million dollars. You held your breath until the show's final moments, actually caring about whether the fundraising record would be broken.

The best part, of course, was always at the end. We were glued to the television when, after 21 straight hours on the air, the sweaty, exhausted Lewis would wrap up the show with his powerful rendition of the song "You'll Never Walk Alone."

Lewis was not a very gifted vocalist, and his voice was usually pretty hoarse by that hour. But he sang that song from the depths of his soul. I could have listened to it a million times.

Cynics considered Lewis and his telethon hokey and over-the-top. But he connected with real people on an emotional level, and they responded by sending hundreds of millions of dollars every year that made a real difference in the lives of countless victims.

It's hard to imagine the bosses at MDA dumping Lewis so unceremoniously, with no public explanation. He deserved a medal of honor for his decades of service, not a "see you later, Jerry."

There was a time when the MDA Telethon was a major event here in West Michigan. WZZM-TV in Grand Rapids was a member of the huge network of televison stations that carried he telethon every year, from 9 a.m. the night before Labor Day until 6 p.m. on Monday.

Remember Dick Richards, the old Channel 13 anchorman who came out of retirement every year to host the local version of the telethon? Remember when everybody on the Channel 13 news team participated in the telethon, then did the 6 p.m. Labor Day newscast with their tuxedos still on?

Just about every community in West Michigan had some sort of fundraising event for MDA. Channel 13 would do live remotes from places like Ravenna and Coopersville, where there would be dunk danks or bake sales to raise money for the telethon.

Thousands of people across West Michigan got involved. I think our participation made us better people, at least for one weekend per year.

Then times changed, not necessarily for the better. Channel 13 was sold to a corporation that had no interest in MDA. Other television stations across the country dumped the telethon, as well.

I think the biggest factor in the demise of the telethon was the advent of cable television. One of the telethon's great appeals was that it was the only all-night program on TV, and it only came on once a year.

I remember sitting up with my brother every Labor Day weekend, pledging to stay awake and eat breakfast with Jerry. We always fell asleep, but we usually made it until 4 or 5 a.m.

But then we started getting more all-night viewing options, like MTV and Showtime. Suddenly we could stay up on Labor Day weekend and watch mindless programming for our own entertainment, with nobody benefiting from our viewership. And of course the selfish option won the war. Lewis and the telethon were no longer so important.

We didn't realize at the time that we were cheating ourselves by changing the channel and watching some stupid movie. We were missing the chance to care about strangers and be part of something fundamentally good.

That was the opportunity Jerry Lewis provided us every year. I will always remember and respect him for that.